This invention relates to a passive vehicle occupant restraint belt system in which the belt is automatically, easily and effectively transferred between an occupant-restraining and an occupant-releasing configuration in response to opening and closing movements of a vehicle door.
In recent years there have been many proposals for passive occupant restraint systems for vehicles. The most common type of restraint systems are those based on restraint belts, and most of the proposed belt systems include a belt transfer mechanism which is driven by an electric motor or a mechanical lever or gear transmission. In the case of mechanical drives, a motion transmitting device is coupled between the belt transfer device and the vehicle body or door for transmitting and amplifying the door opening and closing movements. One such mechanical device, which is capable of moving the restraining belt from an occupant-restraining to the occupant-releasing position in response to a partial opening of the door is shown and described in commonly owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 950,020 filed Oct. 10, 1978.
In the case of an accident, however, where the vehicle body or door is deformed, the motion transmission and belt transfer devices may be damaged and possibly rendered inoperative. This poses a significant danger, since the binding of the belt transfer mechanism or motion transmission device would interfere with the opening or closing of the door and may cause the driver or passengers to be trapped inside the damaged vehicle.